AIST REPORT 2012

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Lead-off ArticlesAIST’s commitment to hub functions linking industry, academia and governmentAIST is promoting Full Research, integrating all stages from basic research to research for commercial application.Vice-President Masahiro Seto describes the context: “Initially the number of research projects we were cooperating with businesses on was only a few dozen a year, but over the past ten years that number has risen to 1,800 projects a year. To further develop our partnerships with industry and academia, we will continue to establish bases for the promotion of open innovation, increasing our activities in areas including exchange projects, personnel development and information propagation.”As a part of this, the “Vitalization Council for Industrial Technology of Japan”, was launched in October 2011 in cooperation with Nikkei Inc. to provide a forum for discussions between industry, academia and government on bringing about technological innovation.“What we mean by ‘vitalizing Japan’ is producing innovations that will increase the public’s happiness. To this end, AIST is committed to implementing hub functions to link businesses with universities. In our role as a government-affiliated public research institution, we will send out messages about the directions of innovation in Japan and we will make proposals relating to specific projects.”Surviving in the global societyThe May 2012 interim report of the Vitalization Council for Industrial Technology of Japan contained five proposals. What kind of messages did AIST intend to send out with these proposals?“When targeting new economic areas such as the developing markets of China, India and Brazil, we need to identify topics for R&D considering outcomes, rather than the old bottom-up style of R&D being driven by basic research.This means understanding what is required in each society or region, making proposals as to what kind of society should be created there and how lifestyles should be altered, and creating values (making ideas) to realize those proposals with technology.With the progress of information technology and new possibilities of instantaneous communication, our activities must be fast-paced and strategically oriented to business.When living standards in new economic areas improve in the future, values will be more consistent across the world. On issues that affect the whole world such as the environment and energy problems, large numbers of institutions will be working in partnership at a national project level. For the various reasons I have given, open innovation will be very important.”Masahiro Seto adds that, in the context of globalization, personnel development with a view to the long term is a big issue.“We need Japanese researchers to seek out opportunities to go abroad and we need to invite foreign researchers to come to Japan. In particular, if young researchers from new economic areas come and experience the attractions of Japan’s research environment and living environment, personnel development will work in both directions and personal networks will be built up, which will lead to future partnerships in economic markets.”If Japan’s industry is to recover its vitality, industry, academia and government must cooperate to improve our industrial competitiveness. To this end, AIST has established a mission called “Reinforcing the Functions of an Open Innovation Hub” and is accelerating this mission. We asked Vice-President Masahiro Seto about the concept of the mission and its practical developments. 04|Organizational GovernanceInterview with Masahiro Seto [AIST Vice-President and Director-General, Research and Innovation Promotion Headquarters]AIST: Making Things, Making Ideas, Making People~The Open Innovation Strategy~Organizational Governance

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